and is the acronym for a highly beneficial analytical approach that vastly simplifies the analysis of multiple pesticide residues in fruit, vegetables, cereals and processed products thereof.

The QuEChERS procedure entails a number of simple analytical steps and is thus fast and easy to perform and little susceptible to errors. QuEChERS provides high recoveries for a very broad scope of pesticides belonging to various chemical classes and the final extract, being solved in acetonitrile, gives full flexibility in the choice of the determinative analysis technique. Direct connection with liquid- and gas-chromatography is possible.

In brief the procedure entails the following steps:

Weigh 10 g of sample

add 10 mL acetonitrile and internal standard

agitate intensively

add NaCl, MgSO4 and buffering salts for phase-separation and pH-adjustment

agitate intensively and centrifuge ⇒ Raw extract

take an aliquot of the upper organic phase and subject it to dispersive SPE cleanup (d-SPE) by mixing it with MgSO4 and a sorbent (e.g. PSA) to remove water and undesired co-extractives

the final extract can be analyzed directly by GC- and / or LC-techniques

Both, extraction and cleanup can be scaled up or down as desired.

With QuEChERS a single analyst can prepare 8 samples in 45 minutes using disposable materials worth 1-3 €. Lab efficiency is improved not only with respect to labor reduction and consumable savings but also in terms of higher sample throughput and reduced waste generation and space requirements.

Within a relatively short time after the publication of the original QuEChERS-method by M. Anastassiades, S.J. Lehotay, D. Stajnbaher and F.J. Schenck in 2003, QuEChERS has experienced a widespread adoption around the globe and is today probably the most used sample preparation approach in pesticide residue analysis worldwide.